Liberals expected to win again; Greens to capture three seats: poll

On the final day of campaigning, the B.C. Liberals are predicted to be re-elected on Tuesday, while the Greens will capture three seats, according to one pollster.

Liberal Leader Christy Clark will be given another mandate to govern, but by a narrower margin than in 2013, according to Social Media ROi, a Calgary-based company that used public opinion polls and social media data in a report released Monday.

“Consumer confidence data for B.C. collected since 2005 shows optimism among British Columbians is higher than anything else in Canada,” the report says. “Most people will vote to keep the status quo in place, especially in the face of rising protectionism south of the border.”

Clark’s “dominance” of the political landscape, the report adds, stands in contrast to NDP Leader John Horgan, who was relatively unknown until the last few weeks.

The NDP’s share of the overall vote is expected to drop from the last election because of defections to the Greens, the report says, while the Greens should nab a bigger portion of the popular vote and three seats on Vancouver Island, if they continue to engage voters online.

Social Media ROi analyzed more than 475,000 comments on social media about the three main political leaders, starting Jan. 1.